Stubborn in love
by whitefairy
Summary: Ichigo has finally had enough of Sprx and Nova fighting and, with the help of a stranger, she's going to do something about it!
1. Of music boxes and confessions

Disclaimer: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! People!

Thanks to:

Twister91: (sweat drops and watches Twister be pummelled by her muses) you wouldn't do that to me, would you Ichigo?

Ichigo: hmmm... I dunno. You _did_ make me kiss Mandarin, after all. What do you think, Antauri?

Antauri: (gets out his Razor Claws and grins)

WF: (gulps and runs)

SparxGirl: Nova: (grins and pokes Sprx) so there!

Sprx: Oh come _on_! I've saved you a million more times than you've saved me!

Nova: Why you little... (Attacks Sprx)

Sprx: Ouch! Hey, I thought you wanted to have kids with me?

Nova: (blushes and starts strangling Sprx) Shut up!

Beastfire: Nova: (blushes even more) I _do not_ want to be a mum! That was Ichigo's fault!

Ichigo: But babies are so cute and adorable and squishy and huggable and wonderful! Why wouldn't you want to have one?

Nova: (sweat drops at Ichigo's girliness) because it would wreck my image!

Ichigo: Oh you could get that back with yoga (smiles happily)

Nova: (slaps head)

Ichigo: (eyes go all big and shiny) and babies are the symbol of a couple's eternal love for each other! Babies show that people trust each other completely and would want to share that love and trust with the world! (Sighs happily)

Sprx: (nudges Antauri) Do you think she's trying to hint something to you?

Antauri: (sweat drops and blushes)

Anonymous But Interested: WF: LOL I love that phrase. 'Bits of banter', it sounds great! (Flies around saying it)

Ichigo: Lots of emotion, eh? (Turns to Antauri and grins)

Antauri: (blushes and quickly looks away)

Ichigo: (giggles)

4Evermonkeyfan: Ichigo: (still in happy mode) we'll put one in _this_ chapter!

WF: (sweat drops) when did we decide this?

Ichigo: Just now! (Beams in girly happy way) they can help with getting Sp...(Is muffled by a hand)

WF: Maybe we should go to the story.

**Stubborn in Love**

Ichigo woke up the next day quite late. She turned to look at Antauri, and saw that he was still a monkey human hybrid.

'So it wasn't a dream' she mused sleepily, she yawned and snuggled close to Antauri, feeling his furry well- formed chest. She blushed and purred slightly as she thought of what she could do with Antauri whilst they were like this.

Suddenly, she squeaked in surprise as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, bringing her into a close embrace with Antauri. She looked up into his face and saw him smile back warmly,

"Good morning" he murmured, she wrapped her arms around him too and rested her chin on top of his chest,

"It certainly is" she replied, giggling slightly when Antauri raised an eyebrow at her. She ran her fingers over his chest and shoulders, feeling the muscles under his silky fur quiver at her touch. She closed her eyes and focused on massaging Antauri, she listened to his steady heartbeat and deep- throated purrs,

'This is bliss' she thought happily as she reached up to kiss Antauri.

But, a sudden jolt caused her to fall forwards and her head banged on Antauri's, dazing them both slightly.

"What was that?" asked Antauri, wincing slightly when he turned his head. Ichigo sat up and they both listened intently, they could hear loud voices shrieking at each other and they were getting louder. Ichigo felt a sweat drop appear on the back of her head,

"I'm... guessing Sprx and Nova are awake" she said as another jolt shook them. Antauri sat up as well,

"Yes" he agreed, sighing slightly, and looking back over at Ichigo. She gazed off into space as she thought then she turned to Antauri, looking quite puzzled,

"It's fairly obvious that Sprx and Nova have feelings for each other, yet they always seem to push them away by fighting so much. Why? Surely, if they love each other, they would want to make each other happy not angry." Antauri shrugged and pulled Ichigo close,

"There are many mysteries in the Universe, my dear. This is one of them" Ichigo couldn't tell whether Antauri was joking or being serious, but that didn't stop the problem from troubling her.

Eventually, Nova and Sprx managed to burst into Antauri and Ichigo's bedroom, accusing each other of various things and demanding that they help bring justice to the situation. Ichigo, who had been dozing off as she mused various solutions to her previous question, simply pulled the pillow over her head and nuzzled into Antauri's side as she whined slightly about loud voices so early in the morning. Antauri, however, was much more useful and calmly told them to apologise and forget about it, then he snuggled down next to Ichigo and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, this wasn't the answer that Nova and Sprx wanted,

"But, Antauri, I didn't do anything _wrong_! It was Sprx trying to get off with me again!" whined Nova as she poked him awake. Antauri grunted and took Ichigo's approach by hiding his head under the pillow.

But this didn't deter the pair, who seemed hell-bent on seeing the other in trouble,

"C'mon, Antauri! You know I'm innocent!" begged Sprx, Nova snorted,

"Yeah, right! Sprx, you weren't even _born_ innocent!" she remarked as she pushed him aside. Sprx glared icily at the back of her head and pulled her out of the way by her tail,

"That's cold, Nova, really cold. Besides, _you're_ not much better! I know that you just act all tough, but inside, you really want me! Don't deny it!" he cried as Nova stared at him in shock. Her shock wore off and she blushed,

"Shut up, you freak!" she cried, her face burning with a red glow,

"No!" cried Sprx, he pushed Nova's shoulder.

"Yes!" shouted Nova, pushing back.

Pretty soon, the pushing gave way to punching and the punching gave way to an all out brawl right in the middle of the bedroom. Finally, Antauri sat up and glared at them,

"Stop that before you break..." he was cut off by the sound of something fragile breaking and he sweat dropped as Ichigo sat up in horror.

The fighting stopped immediately and both looked very guilty, Ichigo leapt out of bed and ran to where they were looking.

"We're really sorry, Ichigo!" cried Nova as soon as Ichigo gasped, "It was Sprx's fault! He pushed me and..."

"_My_ fault?" he cried in disbelief before resuming his scuffle with Nova. Ichigo held up the pieces of what had once been her beautiful china music box; it had been a gift from her brother and parents before she left, as a good luck charm. She felt tears form in her eyes and she realised those responsible had begun fighting again, all the sadness turned to anger and she felt it boil over in her,

"ENOUGH!" she yelled, turning to face the now stationary pair and a shocked Antauri, she felt herself shaking and took some deep breaths, "I've had enough of you two constantly fighting" she continued, she stood up and held the pieces of her music box close to keep her from crying, "I don't even see why you have to fight with each other! You love each other, I know it! But you seem to lash out and deny it instead of embracing it... like you're scared of what will happen!" she tried hard but she could feel the tears run down her face and her voice started to break up, "and now... now _I've_ lost something dear, all because you two are too immature to admit your feelings!" she watched them stare at her in shock before flying out of the room, sobbing quietly.

Now all that filled the room was a stunned and uncomfortable silence, Antauri turned and glared at the pair on the floor. They looked over at the remains of Ichigo's treasured music box and bowed their heads in shame,

"At least you have the decency to be ashamed" spat Antauri quietly, causing them to flinch at his harsh tone. He got up and pulled on a pair of jeans, which he'd obtained from Chiro. The other two looked up at him, ashamed and curious of what he'd do next; Antauri sighed and gestured for them to follow. Reluctantly, they got up and followed him down to the main room.

Elsewhere, Ichigo sobbed silently as she sat in a small café; she looked down into her orange juice and felt a tear fall into it.

"Looks like you've had some trouble. What's wrong?" Ichigo turned to the speaker and saw another robot monkey, she gasped in shock before composing herself again,

"It's nothing, I'm sorry that I disturbed you" she said politely, refusing to look into this stranger's eyes. She heard the monkey snort in disbelief before sitting down next to her,

"I don't believe that for a second, now tell me; what's wrong?" Ichigo looked up slightly and took in the strange monkey's appearance. The monkey was female, taller than she had been as a robot monkey and looked very similar to Antauri with green eyes and black fur, but she had long black curly hair too. Ichigo fingered her own long, straight white hair and felt a pang of jealousy before it melted away. She stared into the stranger's eyes and saw that she was sincere; she smiled and poured out her story. From her being captured and transformed by Mandarin to getting together with Antauri and how she had become a monkey human hybrid and finally, how Nova and Sprx had broken her music box and her flying away upset. All the time, the stranger listened intently and didn't make a sound until Ichigo had finished.

"And that's why I'm now here, instead back in the Super Robot" finished Ichigo, staring back down into her orange juice, she felt more tears slide down her nose as she spoke but, despite that, she felt better for saying it all. "So... what do you think?" she asked quietly, unsure if she'd done the right thing by telling a complete stranger all her problems. The stranger looked thoughtful, before answering,

"I think... that you need to get these two together. Pronto" she replied, looking oddly determined, "and I think I know how to do it" Ichigo felt slightly frightened when she noticed the mischievous glint in her eye, "and for the record, my name's Adriana"

Yay! New fic, with 4Evermonkeyfan's character in it! I hope she wasn't too OOC, though.


	2. Just a Slight Problem

Disclaimer: Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes!

Thanks to:

Twister91: Everyone: (watches Krystal clobber Onyx for that girlfriend comment)

WF: (tries to free Twister from the clutches of Jet) Phew! This is impossible!

Otto: Lemme try! (Stands beside dust cloud) Ahem, I need a hug! (Gets glomped by Jet)

Sprx: (sweat drops) Dude, that's _so _cool!

4Evermonkeyfan: WF: (blinks) and _why_ did you miss this out, Ichigo?

Ichigo: Hey, I was distraught! Gimme a break!

Anonymous But Interested: WF: Ouch?

Ichigo: Huh?

WF: Why, ouch? (Shouts offside) Nova! Have you been hurting my reviewers?

Nova: (tries to look innocent) No...

Beastfire: WF: Well, there's going to be another human soon!

Ichigo: Who?

WF: (taps nose) Not telling.

A Fan of Romance: Sprx: (rubs hands in anticipation) It better!

Nova: (whacks Sprx around the head) not that kinda good!

Ichigo: (blinks and looks confused) I don't get it.

Antauri: (sighs) that's just as well, Ichigo.

SparxGirl: Sprx: (blushes and sweat drops) what feelings? Heh...

Nova: Yeah, we... we don't have any feelings to admit!

Ichigo: Suuuure, just like you don't owe me a music box!

Crystal sapphire: Nova and Sprx: You're hooking us up?

Ichigo: (sweat drops) No! Of _course not_!

**Just a Slight Problem**

"...And the moment Ichigo returns, I want to you both to apologize and, in the future, I expect you both to control yourselves more!" ordered Antauri, glaring down at the pair who sunk further and further down in their chairs, they nodded glumly.

Just then, Gibson walked in, looking rather pleased about something, and when the others looked at him, curiously, he proudly held up a machine.

"I've just invented a new device that will return us to our original state!" he stated, looking very triumphant, "I have finally beaten Otto to inventing something!" he clicked his heels and laughed in a slightly crazy way. The other sweat dropped and back away when he turned to them with a mad glint in his eye,

"Who wants to be first?" he asked excitedly, everyone backed up more and looked fearfully at the machine.

And, as the Monkey Team looked fearfully at the most intelligent member of their team, Ichigo and Adrianna entered. Gibson saw his first victim... I mean, volunteer and ran up to the pair.

"Ichigo! Just the monkey girl I wanted to see! Please, be a dear and allow me to change you back first!" he asked, waving the device in front of her, Ichigo backed up and looked down warily at the machine.

"You mean this thing will change us back to robot monkeys?" she asked, still eyeing the machine, Gibson nodded eagerly and Ichigo smiled. She shrugged,

"Sure, go on then" she said nonchalantly, before Antauri ran towards them.

"Gibson, I do not believe it's wise to..." but he stopped and gazed in horror as Gibson blasted Ichigo with a bright beam of light. Everyone shielded their eyes and, when the light faded, they all gasped in shock,

"Ichigo?" they cried looking at where Ichigo had been. In place of the albino robot monkey girl, stood a tiny albino human. She looked barely over two and gazed around at them with interest, she looked at Antauri and her face was split by a huge grin,

"Numkey!" she announced, pointing at him, Adrianna looked amazed and knelt beside the diminutive human.

"That thing just turned her into a baby, that's so cool!" she was overcome by maternal instincts and hugged the child close, "she's so cute! But..." she looked up at Gibson and the machine in his hands,

"I thought you said that that machine would change her into a... _robot monkey_" she struggled to not sound sarcastic as she said this. Gibson nodded numbly before snapping awake again,

"Yes... yes it was _meant to_" he said, before Antauri ran up and nearly strangled him,

"You fool! That contraption just made things worse!" he shook the blue monkey silly and had to be pried off by Nova and Sprx.

"I... think I must have made the DNA reconfigurator a tad too strong" Gibson said, wobbling dizzily to his seat and sitting down.

Otto entered and looked around at the sight, Sprx and Nova holding back a murderous looking Antauri, whilst Gibson looked rather downhearted as he stared at some machine. A little human girl was jumping around Antauri, giggling and trying to get his attention, and, by the entrance, stood a monkey they'd never seen before.

"Hey, who're you?" he asked, walking up to the stranger, she jumped slightly and turned to him,

"I'm Adrianna, Ichigo's friend. Umm... what's that?" she asked, pointing at the gizmo in Otto's hands. He smiled and held it up for her to admire,

"This... is my DNA reconfigurator!" he announced happily, Adrianna looked shocked and Gibson started crying. Otto sweat dropped at the reactions he'd got and looked confused,

"I don't get it. What's wrong?" he asked, Adrianna pointed at the human girl and then at Gibson,

"That guy turned Ichigo into that little girl" she explained, Otto nodded understandingly and waved at Ichigo to get her attention,

"He made his one too strong then." concluded Otto and picked up Ichigo, who giggled.

Antauri had finally calmed down and walked up to Otto,

"Can you change her back?" he asked, tentatively, as Otto played with baby Ichigo.

"Sure" he replied casually, "but we'll need to wait at least 24 hours, or else the sudden changes could interfere with each other and mutate her DNA completely" he explained. Antauri nodded and took Ichigo from him, he looked down into her eyes and smiled slightly,

"Numkey!" she announced again, patting him on the chest. He chuckled quietly and threw her up in the air catching her as she fell back down,

"Its _monkey_" he corrected, Ichigo looked up at him, naively,

"Numkey!" she shouted and giggled. The others laughed at her and soon, they were all playing with the tiny albino.

"Hey, guys!" called Chiro as he entered the main room, "I'd like ya to meet..." he faded off and gazed, wide eyed, at the little girl that ran up to him.

"Cheerio!" she shouted, happily and jumped in front of him. He gaped in shock at his team, who all laughed sheepishly,

"It's Ichigo" Nova explained, picking her up again, "Gibson's device screwed up and turned her into this"

"Hey now! No need to put it so harshly!" piped up Gibson, sounding hurt. Sprx raised an eyebrow,

"Why not? It sounds pretty spot on to me" he said, causing Gibson to mutter under his breath, grumpily.

"Umm... guys? Back to me" said Chiro, waving to get everyone's attention, "as I was saying: I'd like ya to meet Ryou, Ichigo's twin brother!" he finished with a flourish as the shocked albino next to him gazed at his sister. He was short like Ichigo and had pale skin and white hair, as well as bright blue eyes. His hair was held back in a small thin ponytail that trailed down to the middle of his back. He took Ichigo off of Nova and stared at her in shock,

"Ryou, Ryou!" said Ichigo, giggling slightly. Ryou smiled and tickled her, causing her to giggle more,

"Geez, I can't leave you alone for two months, can I, Sis?" he asked, tickling her more.

"So, you're really Ichigo's twin brother?" asked Nova, looking impressed and oddly shy, Ryou looked up at her and nodded.

"Yep! And I was gonna surprise her by visiting, but it looks like she surprised me instead!" he laughed slightly and Nova blushed and laughed too. She smiled at him in a lovesick way and latched onto his arm,

"Why don't I show you the rest of the Super Robot?" she suggested, looking excited, Ryou laughed at her eagerness and nodded. Nova jumped for joy and dragged him off, dumping Ichigo in Sprx's arms. Sprx looked flabbergasted,

"What... the heck just happened?" he cried, Ichigo squealed in his arms and waved at the retreating pair. Adrianna looked at him and could see envy making him so green; he could outstrip Otto in that department.

"Hmm..." she said quietly, a plan forming in her mind.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, except for the fact that Nova had now glued herself to Ryou's arm and was claiming that she was his bodyguard. Sprx seemed unusually quiet now and hadn't tried to fight with Nova all day, and Gibson had retreated to his bed, muttering about the world hating him for being a genius.

Anyway, it was now bedtime and the Monkey Team along with Ryou and Adrianna, who'd been offered, or forced in Ryou's case, to stay, were all tucked up in their beds and getting some well earned rest,

"Numkey!"

Well except Antauri and Ichigo. Antauri looked up, blearily, at his down sized girlfriend who didn't want to sleep. She smiled at him and crawled onto his stomach with a book in hand, "Read!" she demanded, slapping the book down on his stomach. He groaned and struggled up into a sitting position,

"Ichigo... it's late and I..." he was stopped by a yawn before continuing, "I want to sleep. So should you, aren't you even a little bit tired?" he wheedled, the little girl shook her head vigorously and hit him with the book again,

"Read!" she demanded, then paused when she saw Antauri's unimpressed face, "please?" she added and smiled sweetly at him. Antauri caved and picked up the book,

"Alright, but just one. Then it's bedtime, ok?" he said, Ichigo cheered and snuggled down next to him, Antauri couldn't help smiling at her,

'Maybe it _would_ be nice to have kids some day, when Ichigo and I are older' he began to read and soon, he realised that he could hear little snores from beside him. He looked down to see that Ichigo had fallen asleep. He laughed quietly and nestled down next to her, cuddling her close.

Ryou yawned and opened his eyes the next morning to find that the strange yellow monkey girl was still with him and, unfortunately, clinging to his arm. He sweat dropped at her persistence,

'Geez, I've had clingy girls before, but this one takes the cake!' he thought as he stared at her, 'still she's not too bad. She _was_ nice enough to show me around, but... I just don't feel for her in _that way_. That red monkey guy didn't seem too pleased about it though, I wonder... does he...' he never got to finish because, just then, his bedroom door opened and in crept a small black monkey.

"Hi there" she whispered, walking around to his side of the bed, she looked at Nova for a moment before speaking to him again, "I see that Nova is quite fond of you" she remarked, Ryou raised an eyebrow,

"Yes, it seems so" he agreed, turning to look at the girl in question, "though I'm used to it now, a lot of girls seem to think I'm cute so I get clung to often." he sighed in exasperation at this point, "I guess it's helped me become more patient"

"So that's why you didn't freak when you saw your sister?" Adrianna asked and Ryou nodded. Adrianna rubbed her chin, thoughtfully,

"Have you noticed how mad that red monkey seemed about Nova clinging to you?" asked Adrianna in what she hoped was a casual voice, Ryou nodded again,

"Yeah, what's the deal? Are they going out or something?" he asked, attempting to gesture but failing due to the deadweight on his arm,

"No, but I think they like each other in that way" Adrianna replied, nodding suggestively. Ryou's eyes widened at this,

"Really? Then why is she clinging to _me?_" he asked, Adrianna smiled as her plan was working much better than she hoped. She pretended to look pityingly at Nova sighed,

"It's sad, but they can't admit how they feel and, instead, they fight constantly. I guess Nova just fell for you cos you're so..." she thought of how to phrase it,

"Weak and vulnerable?" suggested Ryou light heartedly, Adrianna smiled and shrugged her shoulders,

"I was gonna say kind and quiet, but that works too" she said, Ryou laughed at her and Adrianna felt her cheeks flush slightly. She shook her head,

'Get a grip! You're meant to be getting this guy to join in on the plan, not falling for him!' she berated herself mentally and, when she looked up again, she saw Ryou smiling down at her warmly. She felt a fluttery feeling develop in her stomach and she tried to control her voice,

"Hey, how about we... y'know, get them together?" she suggested, hoping to sound like she'd just thought of it. Ryou looked surprised and raised an eyebrow,

"You mean matchmaking? Isn't that bad?" he asked, looking slightly worried, Adrianna shook her head madly,

"No! It's not matchmaking cos they already like each other, we're just... _helping_ _them along_" she corrected and grinned at him with big puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeeaaaase?" she begged, Ryou caved immediately,

"Oh, alright" he sighed and looked back up at her, "You're almost as persistent as _this _girl!" he gestured to the monkey on his arm. Adrianna huffed in mock indignation and pretended to be emotionally wounded,

"Now, I shall forever be comparing myself to her! And it's all your fault," she turned to him and jumped on him, "Now you will pay!" she roared before tickling him, mercilessly.

Yay, second chap done! What do you think? Is it OK that I've made Adrianna get a little crush on Ryou? I won't make a big thing of it, honest! It'll just be a side thing that'll be hindering her, or maybe a big help in the plan (looks suspicious) who knows?


	3. That's Not Yoghurt!

Disclaimer: Happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! (Does a cart wheel)

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ryou: (blinks innocently) Huh?

Otto: (being tied down by Ichigo, Sprx, Nova and Onyx)

Antauri: (to Ryou) you'll get used it eventually.

Crystal sapphire: WF: Milk dud?

Ichigo: Huh?

WF: What's a milk dud?

Ichigo: A dud made of milk?

WF: Oh... what's a dud?

Ichigo: (sighs)

Beastfire: WF: Oh we know! Believe me, we know! (Grins evilly)

Ichigo: And as for this 'love crap', Ivy. (Points at genre) Take a good look at what genre this story is!

SparxGirl: Ryou: (quietly crying and losing feeling in his arm)

WF: I don't think even the hammer and chisel will work!

Ichigo: I know what will! (Drops a lovesick Jet on Ryou)

Everyone: (watches the massive fight between Jet and Nova)

Ryou: (runs like crazy) Yay, I'm free!

A Fan of Romance: First time for everything huh? LOL Glad you like it that much!

Anonymous But Interested: (is amazed at the formality of review) Wow... thanks... (Still slightly awed)

**That's Not Yoghurt!**

There was a bright flash of light and everyone cheered as the newly transformed Ichigo sat on the floor, looking slightly confused,

"What... happened?" she asked, sounding dazed. She looked down at herself and saw that she was back to her normal robot monkey self, "I'm back to normal? Hooray!" she did a somersault upwards into the air and flew over to Antauri. He still hadn't been changed and Ichigo was enjoying the warmth from his large, furry chest as she hugged him. He laughed and hugged her back,

"I'm glad you're back to normal" he murmured, stroking her fur. She smiled up at him,

"Hey, Antauri! Your turn" called Otto, waving at him, Antauri let go of Ichigo and walked over. There was a flash of light and, when it subsided, they saw that Antauri was back to normal too.

He looked over and saw that Ichigo was hugging her brother, warmly, and Ryou was attempting to hug back; although one of his arms was still being stubbornly clung to by Nova. Antauri sweat dropped and hovered over to help.

Soon, everyone was back to normal and they'd explained what had happened yesterday to Ichigo,

"So... was I troublesome?" she asked, looking around at her friends, as she sat in Antauri's lap, everyone 'hmm'ed a bit before answering,

"Yes" said Sprx simply, earning a whack in the arm from Nova. "Hey! What was that for?" he whined, sounding more hurt than usual. She snorted and wrapped her arms around Ryou's arm again,

"For being a jerk" she replied coolly, Sprx facevaulted and growled,

"_I'm _being a jerk?" he said, incredulously, "what about _you_, Miss Clingy? You just punched me in the arm for being honest, and then pretended you hadn't done anything wrong!" Nova nuzzled Ryou's arm a little before replying,

"Whatever, Sprx" she mumbled and squeezed Ryou's arm a little tighter, Ryou whimpered quietly in pain. Sprx noticed this and looked back down at Nova, who seemed to the pain she was causing,

"If you don't let go of Ryou's arm, it's gonna drop off from lack of blood" he pointed out, causing Nova to spring off of Ryou's arm. She gazed at it in concern and then looked up at Ryou,

"Are you alright?" she asked, sounding very worried; Ryou nodded quietly and smiled at her concern over him. But, beside them, a red monkey quietly seethed. However, he wasn't quiet for long,

"What the heck? Since when have you been little Miss TLC?" he yelled, standing up and glaring at Nova. She turned and glared back,

"Since now! You got a problem with that?" she asked, standing up as well. Sprx growled and neared her,

"Yeah!" he yelled in her face, Nova scrunched her nose in disgust and narrowed her eyes at him,

"Well, what are you gonna do about it?" she whispered, sounding rather cocky. This only fuelled Sprx's rage and, without thinking, he got out his magnets and charged up an attack.

"This!" he cried, blasting at her. Nova dodged it but, to everyone's horror, the blast hit Ryou who was behind Nova. Everything seemed to slow down as the electricity ran through his body, causing him to scream in pain and faint and several burn marks were visible on him. Nova gasped and Sprx gaped at the injured boy,

"Ryou!" cried Ichigo, shooting over to her brother and looking over his injuries. Everyone, except Nova and Sprx, helped get him to the medical room, where Gibson and Otto worked on healing him. Ichigo came out, crying and distraught, and was being comforted by Antauri and Chiro. They went to Antauri and Ichigo's room. This left Sprx, Nova and Adrianna alone.

"Now look what you've done, you moronic piece of pocket lint!" Nova screamed angrily, she stared at Sprx with fury in her eyes, Sprx snapped awake and stared at her,

"_My fault?" _he repeated shrilly, "You dumb blonde! If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!" he shouted, pointing at her accusingly. Nova shrieked in anger and pounced on Sprx, punching him furiously,

"Take it back!" she demanded, pounding him in the face and chest "Take it back, you lousy, useless, self-centred, freak of nature!" she screamed, punching him harder and harder. She didn't stop until Adrianna ran forwards and grabbed her arm,

"Nova! Stop!" she begged, Nova looked up at her in aggravation and back down at Sprx, she gasped.

Lying before her was a battered and bloody red monkey; she quickly got off him and checked over him. He wasn't breathing very well and blood and oil seeped out of various places, mixing together. Nova felt physically sick, her legs slipped from under her and she sat down hard on the floor. She felt faint and everything went black.

When Nova woke up; she was in the medical room, lying on one of the beds. She blinked in confusion and then it all came back in a flash. She felt sick with anxiety and quickly sat up and looked around. She spotted Sprx in a corner of the room, various tubes and wires coming off him and going to different machines. But what struck Nova was the worst was the fact that he looked so lifeless, his usually bright eyes were now dull and dead and his fur was much paler too. He didn't move at all, or make those cute little snores that he did when he was asleep. Then a terrible thought struck Nova so hard she stopped breathing for a moment,

'What if he's not asleep? What if...he's...' she felt overcome by emotions and fell to her knees and cried.

Hearing the commotion, Gibson walked in and saw Nova sitting next to Sprx, crying softly. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, she looked up at him and buried her face in his fur,

"Oh, Gibson. It's all my fault! I... I..." she cried quietly and Gibson patted her back. He couldn't think of any words of comfort that might help, so he resorted to silently rubbing her back, soothingly.

Eventually, the others came in too and gazed at her, pityingly. Ryou came forwards, many of his burns having been bandaged up, and hugged Nova close. He patted her back and held her, her sobs died away slowly and she looked up at him with sad eyes. He hugged her close and she hugged back,

'This is what I've wanted, yet... it just doesn't feel right. Something's... something's missing' she realised, as she rested her head against Ryou's chest. Everyone gradually departed, leaving them alone. Ryou sat down with Nova in his arms and they sat in silence for a while.

"Doesn't feel right, does it?" he commented softly, cutting the silence sharply by voicing just what she thought,

"No..." she whispered and moved to look up into his eyes. She looked away again, "I'm sorry..." she whispered and let her head fall back on his chest. Ryou leaned back slightly, and Nova could feel that he understood. She looked back at Sprx and slowly reached over to touch his face. She let the other one hold his limp hand whilst she cupped his face,

"You love him, don't you?" Ryou asked quietly, Nova turned to look back at him. He smiled in a warm and understanding way, she felt slightly better and smiled too,

"Yes" she whispered in reply.

"Good!" came a sudden voice behind her, she looked back in shock and saw Sprx grinning at her. Nova felt at a loss for words and just stared, open mouthed, at him. He chuckled quietly and reached up to close her mouth, he let his finger trace her lips and he smiled at her warmly, "about time you admitted it" he murmured.

Nova snapped awake at that and smacked him lightly on the arm,

"And it's about time _you_ toughened up!" she retorted, grinning down at him. He sat up and smiled at her,

"You mean like this?" he asked, before pulling her close and into a passionate kiss. Ryou watched with a warm feeling inside as the two monkeys kissed, but he felt uncomfortable as they started to go further and further. Pretty soon, Ryou decided it was time he left and saw what his sister was up to when Nova and Sprx went much further than he expected.

And, as the two monkeys continued, Sprx paused for a moment; he gazed lovingly into Nova's eyes and stroked her face,

"I love you" he said huskily, before they continued with renewed vigour.

The next day, it was evident to the rest of the team that Nova and Sprx were a couple,

"Ruined!" screeched Gibson, running into the main room with a bed sheet in hand. He thrust it into Sprx's face and pointed to a rather large stain, "look at the mess you two made! And, this sort of stuff doesn't come out easily!" Sprx and Nova looked at each other, blushing, and laughed quietly.

"It's not funny!" Gibson bellowed, a vein throbbing like a madman on his temple; Ryou decided to intervene,

"Just put some flat cola on it and then try scrubbing it. It'll work, trust me!" he said, before returning to his breakfast.

"Oh no, _I'm _not doing it!" cried Gibson, throwing the soiled sheet at Sprx and Nova, "_these two are!_" he stormed out, nearly knocking Ichigo over on his way.

Everyone stared at the door in silence for a moment then Ichigo came over and looked at the sheet,

"What is it?" she asked, studying the stain, "Yoghurt?" the reactions were quite spectacular. Ryou snorted out some cornflakes, Adrianna and Antauri fell out of their chairs and Sprx and Nova grabbed the sheet and ran out as fast as they could. Ichigo blinked at the space where the two monkeys and the sheet had been before turning to the remaining three. "What was _that_ about?" she asked, Adrianna shook her head and patted Ichigo on the shoulder, sympathetically,

"Girl, just _don't ask!_" she replied, before saying her goodbyes and leaving.

Next, Ryou got up, shrugged his bag onto his shoulders, hugged Ichigo, promising to return for a more' toned down' visit and left. But, on his way out, he stopped and leant down to Antauri,

"I'm guessing I shouldn't expect any nephews or nieces anytime soon?" he asked innocently, causing Antauri to choke on his orange juice and have nosebleed. Ryou observed all this in amazement,

'Hmm... Guess not' he mused, before leaving.

And lo, it is done! Hooray, Sprx and Nova are together!

Ichigo: (looking at sheet again) But, _what is it?_

WF: (sweat drops) Never mind. Oh, and people? Should I add chapters to this story or just make whole new shiny one?


	4. Pamper Day

Disclaimer: (dancing around crazily) I looooooooooove Study Leave!

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ichigo: Well... he was gonna do this (lets go of Otto and watches him mangle Jet wide eyed) oh my! (Turns to Antauri) Y-you wouldn't do that to me, would you?

Antauri: Of course not! (Holds her close) I love you!

Ichigo: (blushes and goes watery eyed) Oh Antauri!

(Cue massive make out session until Beastfire's muse attacks them)

Dekamonkey: Hey there, 'male muse'! LOL, if you think of anymore ideas just tell me!

A Fan of Romance: Hehe, me love fluff! (Starts singing the fluff song and dancing around)

Monkey team: (shrugs and joins in)

Crystal sapphire: Gibson: (looks confused) It wasn't yoghurt though.

Ichigo: What was it then?

Gibson: (blushes) it was... um... ohlookatthetimeIgottagobye! (Runs like crazy)

Ichigo: (blinks)

Novafangirl: Ichigo: I don't know! No one will tell me! (Starts crying) I wanna know!

Antauri: When you're older, dear.

Ichigo: (pouts) not fair...

Beastfire: WF: Excellent! Then you can tell these guys! (Pushes Ivy in front of Novafangirl, Ichigo and various other naïve people, then runs) Good Luck!

SparxGirl: Ichigo: Oh, you guys will tell _her_ (points at SparxGirl) but not _me_!

Antauri: It's because we want to keep you innocent for as long as possible! Okay?

Ichigo: (sits in a corner and sulks) Humph!

Antauri: (sighs) Guess not.

4Evermonkeyfan: WF: Phew! (Wipes forehead) Glad I got _that_ right!

Ichigo: Relationship? What relationship?

WF: It doesn't matter, Ichigo!

Ichigo: Yes it does! Cos Ryou's g... (Gets mouth covered)

WF: Shhhhhhhh!

Anonymous But Interested: Antauri: (gets pushed out to answer as WF is being attacked by a cranky Ichigo) Umm... well. (Gets stage fright and freezes up) Um...

Nova: (sighs) He means thank you! (Picks up frozen Antauri and walks off)

WF: Whoa! That took up nearly a whole page!

Ichigo: (still pouting) Never mind, let's get this fic rolling!

**Pamper Day! (With Twister91's OC Jet in it!)**

It was a quiet day in Shugazoom, which was unusual since there was usually something trying to destroy the planet. Oh well, we'll go with it.

Jet and Ichigo were sitting in the main room of the Super Robot; Jet was plotting her latest way to get back at Ivy for getting rid of her cinnamon buns (see? I do read other's stories! Hope you don't mind that I mentioned Ivy, Beastfire!) and Ichigo was reading her newest Tokyo Mew Mew manga. It was rather peaceful until,

"I can't stand him!" Nova burst into the main room, scaring Ichigo so much that she shot up to the ceiling and stayed there. Jet, who was much more used to sudden outbursts, merely looked up at the panting yellow monkey,

"Who?" she asked, having a good idea who it was,

"Who do you think? Sprx!" she stomped into the room and sat down in her chair, "Honestly, that monkey can't seem to stop thinking of 'expanding the team' as he puts it. Which is code for wanting to do me seven different ways in one night!" she ranted on about how Sprx's perverted mind was getting on her nerves and the various ways she'd 'solve' this little problem. Most involved neutering the red monkey and none too gently.

Jet sighed and looked up at Ichigo, who was cautiously floating back down to the floor,

'_Can you believe these two?' _she thought in Ichigo's direction, knowing she would hear her; Ichigo's heart gem glowed as she replied.

'_I know; it seems that the longer they're together the more they grate each other's nerves' _she sighed mentally and physically. Jet looked thoughtful before she 'spoke' again

'_They need a break from each other, so they can see how much they really love each other...'_

'_How about a Pamper Day?' _suggested Ichigo, Jet raised an eyebrow,

'_Pamper Day? Nova? I don't see **that** ever happening!' _Jet snorted slightly

'_Well, what else is there?' _asked Ichigo, looking slightly desperate as Nova continued to rant about how annoying Sprx was. Jet thought about it hard, but she came up with nothing. Plus, she kinda liked the thought of being pampered herself; she imagined having two buff Latino male masseuses rubbing her back and shoulders, whilst another was serving her ice-cold smoothies and another gave her a pedicure, she purred slightly in delight.

'_I take it you agree to it then?' _came Ichigo's amused sounding voice in her mind, snapping Jet out of her little fantasy, she blushed a little and smiled up at the white monkey floating over head,

'_Sure' _

"Hey, Nova" started Jet, cutting off Nova's rant parade, the yellow monkey glared at her and Ichigo worried for Jet's well-being, "we were wondering if you wanted to join us on our little Pamper Day today? Y'know, get away from all your worries for a while!" Nova thought about it,

"Hmm... well..." she said, pondering.

Later,

"You're going on a what?" asked Antauri as he watched Ichigo search for her purse. She sighed but didn't stop searching,

"A Pamper Day, Antauri. It's where girls get together and go to a beauty salon. We can get massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, there's even a gym and sports court!"

"And how will this be beneficial?" asked Gibson from the doorway, Ichigo looked back at him and thought of how to phrase it in a way he'd except.

"It's for relaxation! Y'know, so we'll be at our best to fight next time" she noticed that Gibson didn't seem to believe this reason, "and to get Nova away from Sprx. If you hadn't noticed, those two seem to be at each other's throats again" Antauri nodded his agreement to this reason and smiled at her,

"Yes, perhaps this 'Pamper Day' will help give them time to cool them off. Alright, go but be careful. If anything strange happens, contact us immediately!" Antauri warned, Ichigo gave him a 'don't worry' look and Antauri hugged her close, "I love you" he murmured in her ear. Ichigo giggled slightly and kissed him affectionately. They then heard a loud smack and an 'Ow',

"Why can't you ever be that romantic?" demanded a crabby Nova glaring at Sprx, who was holding his head in pain,

"Because you aren't a baby and you can take of yourself!" he said, still rubbing his head.

"I am not a baby!" Ichigo complained, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Of course you are!" teased Jet, squeezing past Nova and Sprx into the bedroom, she ran up and pinched Ichigo's cheek, "you're our cute little baby monkey!" she patted the smaller monkey on the head and got a smack return. She laughed quietly and composed herself, "Well, let's get going girls! Relaxation awaits!" she grabbed Ichigo's hand and pulled her along, grabbing Nova on her way too.

The rest of the team watched as all the female members of their team walked off to this 'beauty salon'. Antauri crossed his arms and looked thoughtful,

"I'm still not sure that I want Ichigo going off with them alone. She's still easily influenced" he looked out doubtfully at the small dots that were the girls. Otto looked taken aback,

"Jet wouldn't try and make her do anything bad!" he complained, Antauri looked over at him,

"I know, but she might 'suggest' certain ideas. And, Nova might help reinforce those ideas" he argued, Otto still looked confused. Sprx grabbed the monkey and whispered in his ear,

"Oh. Oh! You mean Jet might suggest to Ichigo to do... _that?_" he felt his cheeks flush a little, Antauri nodded glumly. Then, Sprx decided to pipe up,

"Why don't you admit it, Antauri? You just want to see what this 'beauty salon' is and you don't want to admit it!" he accused, pointing at the black monkey. Antauri choked slightly and shook his head rapidly,

"No no no! It isn't that at all! I'm just... worried for Ichigo's innocent mind being corrupted, after all; the whole of Shugazoom can probably hear what you guys do every night!" he accused and sighed in relief as Sprx and Otto blushed and looked away. He thought he'd managed to get off the topic, but it seemed Sprx was relentless,

"Hey! You're trying to change the subject! Admit it, you want to see what this 'beauty salon' is, don't you?" Antauri sweated slightly as the others closed in on him.

"I... I..." he sighed and hung his head in defeat, "yes..."

"Then let's go!" cheered Otto, and they all flew over to the beauty salon.

Ichigo purred happily as the masseuse rubbed her shoulders and between her wings,

"This is heaven" she moaned, looking over at Jet. Jet was getting a pedicure and had a face mask on,

"Yeah..." she whispered, enjoying every second of it. Ichigo looked over her shoulder and saw Nova getting her fur brushed by an assistant and seemed pretty into it.

They were so relaxed that they didn't notice the shadowy forms looking down on them from the skylight and three jealous pairs of eyes watched as the male assistants soothed their girlfriends,

"Look at that prissy mama's boy; he thinks he's _so great_ just because he's lulled Nova into a false sense of security!" growled Sprx, glaring down at the unsuspecting assistant who was brushing Nova.

"Yes, and that one with his hands all over Ichigo, he _must_ of hypnotised her! There's _no way_ she'd allow anyone other than _me_ stroke her like that!" Antauri got out his razor claws ready.

"Yeah, I bet; they're gonna make' em fall asleep then, whilst they're sleeping, they'll get rid of' em! I'll bet they're working for Skeleton King!" concluded Otto. They gasped in unison and stared down in shock at the smiling assistants.

"We _must_ intervene and save them before any harm can come to our girlfriends!" said Antauri heroically and was about to dive in, when he heard a tutt behind him. The trio looked back at the fourth, more reluctant member of their little spy mission.

"Don't you think you're all being a tad hasty?" Gibson asked, raising an eyebrow at them, Antauri turned to face him,

"I would rather have them safe now, then wished we had saved them when it's too late" Antauri replied, crossing his arms to prove his stubbornness. Gibson smacked his forehead,

"You're all behaving childish! Those humans are assistants, _not_ evil minions! They have been hired to do these jobs by other humans!" Gibson pointed down at said humans whilst he said this. Sprx looked unimpressed,

"And since when have _you_ been the expert on girly things?" he asked sceptically, Gibson folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air,

"Since _I_ researched into it before we came out" he replied, Sprx snorted slightly,

"Which is another way of saying you're gay" Sprx grinned as Gibson facevaulted.

"What? Why on earth would you think that?" he asked, fur bristling with indignation, Sprx grinned wider,

"Cos you've probably looked up about beauty salons for yourself!" he teased, "And you're the only person without a girlfriend" he watched as Gibson flushed with anger.

"Why of all the nerve... alright then! Fine, do what you will! I'm leaving you three stooges and your insulting ways, before I get dragged into this!" and with that he flew off and rushed back to the Super Robot. The three monkeys left watched as the vapour trail left behind slowly vanished.

"Y'know" started Otto, turning to look at Sprx, "that wasn't very nice, besides we know Gibson ain't gay!"

"Indeed, your judgement of other's sexuality is quite poor. And saying such hurtful things to team mates is not wise" criticised Antauri, turning to look at Sprx as well. Sprx just grinned widely at them,

"Yeah, but it was the only way to get him to stop bugging us! C'mon the guy is a complete fun- sucker, he's even worse than _you_ Antauri. Heh no offence" Sprx explained, Antauri smiled slightly.

"You'll find I can quite fun loving when I want. But let's get back to the matter at hand..." he trailed off when he saw that the girls and the assistants were no longer in the room.

"They're gone?" asked Otto in disbelief, squashing his face against the glass.

"We have to find them, and fast!" exclaimed Antauri, dropping down into the room. The other two followed and they looked around the room,

"Which way?" asked Sprx, Antauri closed his eyes and used the Power Primate to locate them.

"This way" he said, before taking off down a corridor.

Ichigo panted slightly as she sweated. The three of them had been led into the sauna and were currently laying along the benches.

"This is great! We should've done this sooner!" exclaimed Nova, Jet murmured in agreement and even Ichigo smiled at all the pampering they'd had. But, a thought just struck her,

"But, don't you feel slightly bad about leaving out the others?" she asked guiltily, Nova snorted quietly and Jet laughed loudly

"No way! They're boys; they couldn't possibly understand the luxury of being pampered! Besides, can _you_ imagine Antauri having a face mask on and getting a pedicure?" she asked laughing. Ichigo imagined what that would look like and burst out laughing too. Soon, the girls were in stitches as they described the boys in various forms of beauty therapy,

"Gibson getting a foot massage!" cried Jet and there was more laughter,

"With cucumber slices on his eyes!" added Ichigo causing them to laugh louder,

"And curlers in his fur!" giggled Nova and soon they were rolling on the floor, helpless.

"D-did you hear that?" asked Otto, hearing the girls' laughter and mistaking it for cries of pain, "we're too late! They're already being tortured!"

"It's never too late!" cried Antauri, slashing at the door to the female sauna and jumping in, the other followed suit.

"Have no fear, girls! We're here to save...you?" Antauri stopped and gawked at the room full of towel clad human girls. The monkeys blushed and Sprx decided to take over,

"Hey ladies! Sorry about that, no hard feelings, huh? Hehe..." they blanched as the girls glared and came at them. They backed up and hit something. They turned around and were confronted by a massive woman; she grinned evilly and cracked her knuckles.

Ichigo stretched, happily, as they walked, or hovered in Ichigo's case, along the high street back to the Super Robot,

"Man, that was great!" she exclaimed flying ahead, the others nodding in agreement.

"We should really do that again soon!" agreed Jet, putting her hands behind her head. Nova beamed happily and started humming,

"I have to admit though; I'm glad that I'm going back. I kinda miss Antauri" confessed Ichigo, blushing slightly,

"Yeah, it'll be good to see Otto and maybe give him a little 'something' for being such a good boy!" she laughed and winked at the other two. Nova grinned understandingly in response whilst Ichigo looked politely confused. She dismissed it and turned to Nova,

"What about you, Nova? Did you miss Sprx at all?" she asked, the yellow monkey looked thoughtful and smiled,

"Yeah... I guess I did" she confessed, blushing slightly.

"Yay!" cried Ichigo, doing a back flip in the air, "Glad to hear it!"

They entered the Super Robot but were amazed to find only Chiro and Gibson present; they looked around but couldn't see their boyfriends anywhere.

"Where are the others?" asked Ichigo, Gibson growled in response and Ichigo flew off in fright. She hid behind Jet, who came forwards and glared at him,

"Well? Where are they?" she demanded, glaring at him. He mumbled again and stormed off, leaving behind three very confused monkeys.

Just as Nova was about to go and teach Gibson some manners, three beaten, bruised and very messy monkeys collapsed into the room,

"Antauri!" cried Ichigo flying towards them and pulling Antauri into her arms, "oh Honey, what happened?" she hugged him close and petted his bruised cheek. Jet and Nova ran up too,

"What the heck happened to you?" asked Nova, looking over Sprx's wounds. Jet picked up Otto, who cuddled up in her arms, and was too shocked for words.

"Ichigo? Is that you?" asked Antauri hoarsely, opening his eyes blearily, Ichigo hugged him and smiled at him,

"Yes, Antauri. I'm here for you" she whispered, his eyes opened wide and he suddenly pulled Ichigo into a deep and passionate kiss.

"Oh my angel! I thought I'd lost you forever!" he cried, nuzzling Ichigo's chest.

"What?" the girls cried in unison,

"Antauri... she only came with us to a beauty salon! That's not really life threatening!" remarked Jet, eyeing the second in command critically.

"But the evil minions could've gotten you!" complained Otto, clinging onto Jet like there was no tomorrow. The three female monkeys were now matching with wide eyed, shocked expressions on their faces,

"What the heck is going on?" demanded Nova, glaring down at her boyfriend, who was still holding onto her. Sprx stood up slowly and stroked her face,

"Let's put it this way" he replied and kissed her before continuing, "please don't go to any more salons any time soon!"

Wow, that's the most I've ever written ever!

Ichigo: Yeah... it's amazing

Sprx: I can't believe you guys talked me into that!

Antauri and Otto: Us? Why you... (Jump Sprx)

(Cue massive dust cloud fight)

WF: (sweat drops) Review people, please!


	5. Beggy beggy beggy

WF: Ok this isn't a chapter. It's more of a begging letter.

Ichigo: We're gonna be making a fic where everyone's going to a spa and ski lodge!

WF: And we want to know who wants to be in it. So far, it's the monkey team, Ichigo, me and Dekamonkey. If you want to be in it, send us an e-mail with a description of your character, or yourself if you want to in it too!

Ichigo: Hope lots of people want to be in it!

Antauri: (sighs) not another beauty salon!

Ichigo: Oh, this one's different! (Leans in close to Antauri) it's got natural hot springs. And we can go in them after we've been skiing. How about it, Antauri? Just us two. Alone...

WF: A-_hem_. We _can_ hear you.

Ichigo: (blushes) oh um... sorry! (Runs out)

Tell us soon!


End file.
